Resilience
Investing is like life itself; wishing to avoid periodically going sideways or backwards is not realistic. Rather than seeking to avoid all hardship or setback, we should instead focus on developing stronger resilience. Peggy and I have just spent the past couple weeks watching tennis from the US Open in New York, happily recounting the…
Read MoreMaking Sense of our Economic Landscape
“Cast me gently into morning,For the night has been unkind.” -Sarah McLachlan, “Answer” With so many developments and crosscurrents in our current economy and investment markets, it can be difficult to make sense of where we are, not to mention where we might be going. Here, we’ll take a look at some of these forces…
Read MoreWhen Life Gives You Lemons…
…you capture capital losses, of course. In declining markets, the wish to do something is natural. After all, humans have evolved and thrived in part by being attentive to perceived risk and acting to mitigate threats. Ironically, however, doing nothing with your investments is often a wonderful demeanor, including when prices are falling. After all,…
Read MoreEconomic Commentary and Investment Update
In 2022, the war in Ukraine and resulting sanctions, COVID supply chain shocks, and a re-ordering of global trade have leveled a solid bodycheck on the US and global economies. Even the strongest skater is likely to wobble under such circumstances. We’ll highlight a few themes which have occupied and at times confounded investors in…
Read MoreTranslate This Page
Recently I saw these words at the top right corner of my computer screen: “Translate this page.” My mind was deep in critical thought at the moment, and at first the message didn’t register. Momentarily, however, my eyes wandered back. “What?” Then I started laughing, realizing that Google was offering to translate this page into…
Read MoreSustainable Capitalism
Larry Fink would like you to know that he’s a capitalist. He’s the founder and CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, so it makes sense that he would be. However, Mr. Fink has drawn criticism in the last few years for his annual letter to CEO’s, in which for the last several years…
Read MoreRussia, Ukraine, and Your Portfolio’s Path Forward
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on top of inflation concerns in the US and elsewhere, markets have recently been subject to greater volatility as well as declines in value. “Markets,” a term used to describe all global investors, price assets based on available information and the implications they derive from it. It’s reasonable, then, for…
Read MoreYear-end Charitable Gift Planning in 2021
In the last few years, so much has changed about charitable gift planning. We offer a bit of recent history on the changes, and suggest some strategies that may help you reduce your tax bill while supporting the charities of your choice. In 2018 the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) raised the standard income…
Read MoreLet’s Talk About Risk
By most measures we’re experiencing the longest bull market in our history, starting in March of 2009 and briefly dropping by 30% in March of 2020, before recovering after the shortest bear market ever. As a result, we’re sharing the marketplace with a generation of investors who have never experienced a protracted bear market. These…
Read MoreBack to School: Getting the Most from Your 529 Plan
If you have college-bound children or grandchildren, it’s worth learning about 529 plans. These tax-advantaged savings plan for college expenses are named for the internal revenue code section authorizing their use. 529 plans invest after-tax dollars, ideally to grow for several years before the funds can be withdrawn tax-free, if used for qualified education expenses.…
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